>> Monday, October 12, 2009

Sometimes I feel like I'm always rooting for things that most people disdain. Call me the devil's advocate and for years I did deserve the title.

Its fun to dress up and look different than you always do, its cathartic. You know, that word that made Aristotle's justification of plays and literature vs Plato's complete disdain for them credible.

Cathartic, pertaining to catharsis which as defined is:

Main Entry: ca·thar·sisPronunciation: \kə-ˈthär-səs\Function: nounInflected Form(s): plural ca·thar·ses \-ˌsēz\Etymology: New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein to cleanse, purge, from katharosDate: circa 17751 : purgation2 a : purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art b : a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension3 : elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression

It seems that dressing up would allow complexes to be dealt with by allowing it consciousness.

So you don't criticize people for going to the movie's, a play, or opera so why criticize adults who celebrate Halloween? I've heard it labelled a child's holiday but I don't understand why its less culturally acceptable for adults to enjoy, after all they have a much more mundane routine oft times than children.

Besdies that its infinitely more creative than going and watching a movie or something that takes little to no effort. My Grandpa and Grandma always dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Hall O. Ween. Awesomely creative and fun right? I think so.

But I have to say, as a child I hated Halloween and it wasn't until I married Ryan that I began to enjoy the holiday again. So how can I be posting on a subject I used to hate? Well I'll tell you why I hated it, I hated the creepy gorey part with people dressing up like killers or psycho's. (one year my brother was a Cereal Killer he dashed a cereal box to smithereens!) But as a child I avidly played dress up and loved pretending, it was just that the line between Halloween and fun was skewed.

Halloween today is infinitely different from how it was when I was little. I remember my family were die hard trick or treaters, my dad went with us and if it rained or snow (it often did) he'd drive us around the neighborhood. My mom always had soup for us before hand and homemade hot chocolate when we got back. When my parents moved when I was 8 Halloween changed for me. I no longer knew the neighborhood, people didn't know me or my family yet and it was scary being in uncharted waters. The streets didn't have as many lights and a lot of people just stuck candy on the porch.

So I stopped liking Halloween because it was different. I stopped going trick or treating after I was 10 and I labelled the holdiay stupid. That was around the time that the Mall's started providing a safe trick or treating atmospher and trunk or treats started popping up. I definitely understand the precautions but I still think the holiday deserves to be considered a holiday and not just a silly thing for children. I kind of feel bad for my kids if trick or treating to them is merely trunk or treating.

So why not root for Halloween and its fun for ALL ages? I'm sure going to!

How do you feel about Halloween for adults? What do you want to dress up like for Halloween?